The Wiimote (a colloquial shortening of Nintendo’s official term, the “Wii Remote”) is the game controller for the Nintendo Wii gaming console. The Wiimote itself is interesting in that it contains a 1024x768 infrared camera, capable of tracking multiple points of infrared light, and reporting their positions wirelessly (via Bluetooth) to the host (be it the Wii console, or a computer).

Hackers (in the best sense of the term) are using this hardware to create some interesting projects. This page is a collection of these projects, with emphasis on those projects that have software available for Mac OS X.

Projects

• Johnny Chung Lee seems to be the ringleader in pointing the Wiimote’s camera at moving points if light. His project page at CMU has videos of his projects making an interactive whiteboard and finger/head tracking.
• The Hack-a-Day website has a category dedicated to Wii hacks, most involving the Wiimote.
• Adrien Mondot uses his eMotion software, some infrared pens, and a Wiimote to create performance art. (Vimeo video)

Software

• RemoteBuddy ($25, Mac) allows a range of hardware to act as a remote for Mac OS X, including the Wiimote.
• DarwiinRemote is an Open Source project to allow the Wiimote to control a Mac. In typical Open Source fashion, it is rough around the edges and quite unfinished.